UPDATE: Power has been restored to the majority of the 130,000 homes and businesses affected by a massive outage in San Francisco, but 40,000 customers still remain without electricity as of this morning. The outage, which began shortly after 1 PM on December 20, 2025, caused significant disruptions across the city, particularly impacting one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.
As utility crews from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) continue their work, more than 20,000 customers were still offline as of Sunday morning, approximately 16 hours after the initial outage. At its peak, the power failure affected roughly one-third of PG&E’s customer base in the city.
Mayor Daniel Lurie urged residents on social media to stay home if possible and advised using flashlights instead of candles to reduce fire risks. In a post, he stated, “As we head into the night, PG&E has restored power to 90,000 customers, but there are still about 40,000 customers without power.”
The outage led to widespread chaos: restaurants and shops were forced to close, and festive street lights went dark. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management reported significant transit disruptions citywide, advising residents to avoid non-essential travel and treat malfunctioning traffic lights as four-way stops.
Adding to the turmoil, Waymo, the operator of driverless ride-hailing vehicles, suspended its services due to the outage. Videos on social media depicted Waymo vehicles halted in the middle of intersections, further complicating the already strained transit system.
According to fire officials, some of the outages were linked to a fire that broke out at a PG&E substation located at 8th and Mission streets around 3:15 PM. The full cause of the fire and subsequent outage remains under investigation.
At 4 PM, PG&E announced on social media that they had stabilized the grid and anticipated no further outages.
Residents are urged to remain vigilant as power restoration efforts continue. For those still facing outages, safety tips include checking on neighbors, especially the elderly, and utilizing flashlights to mitigate fire hazards.
As recovery efforts unfold, the situation remains fluid, and residents are encouraged to stay informed through official channels. The latest updates will be vital for ensuring safety and understanding the full impact of this significant outage.
